The Falcons may do without a win over Wilcox on Friday night, but if they can bring home a victory from the Santa Clara campus on Nov. 12 it's a done deal. And that's just what head coach Kurt Heinrich and his Falcons hope to do.

"It's definitely a meaningful game for us," said Heinrich, looking ahead to the 7:30 p.m. game Friday at Wilcox. But it will be no easy task for the Falcons.

Saratoga, 6-3 for the year and 3-2 in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League, shares third place in the division with Wilcox (3-2, 6-2-1). Friday's winner will tie for second in the division with Palo Alto (4-2, 6-3) since the Vikings are finished with league play and meet Monta Vista in a non-league game. But the loser on Friday could finish as low as fifth.

Milpitas (2-2-1, 4-4-1) threw the race into a mess last Friday night by fighting back for a 35-35 tie against Los Gatos (4-0-1, 7-1-1). The Wildcats have already clinched the league championship, and the Trojans could climb into fourth place by beating winless Gunn (0-5, 2-7) this week.

Saratoga faces a big test on Friday night at Wilcox, and no one knows that better than Heinrich.

"They're huge," said the Saratoga coach of the Chargers. "The run the veer offense, and they're incredibly formidable."

Heinrich is hoping his Falcons can build on their success of the last three weeks when they beat Gunn, Homestead and Los Altos (5-4).

The Falcons rolled to a 36-15 non-league win over the Eagles on Friday night at Los Gatos.

"The kids played really well," said Heinrich. "We got off to a quick start—it was 21-0 in the first quarter."

Saratoga came out running. Peter Rutti scored on a 38-yard run, Phil Spencer had a 58-yard TD dash and Rutti scored again from 14 yards out. David Orasin converted after each touchdown, and the Falcons were up 21-0 before the first buzzer.

After a scoreless second quarter, Los Altos fought back with a touchdown in the third. Then the offense went to work again with a 6-yard touchdown run by Rutti and a 12-yard TD run by Brandon Kinsting.

Saratoga closed out its scoring when Brent Walter dropped a Los Altos ball carrier in the end zone for a safety. The Eagles would score one more late in the game.

"The defense kept us in it, allowing us to regroup ourselves," said Heinrich.

Adam Sato, Mark Denari, T.J. Florence, Michael Block, Kyle Stoffers, Jeff Lyu, Greg Mow, Ryan Hall and Walter were defensive standouts in the win for Saratoga.

But it was on offense where the Falcons really shined. Spencer carried six times for 132 yards and Rutti added 103 yards on 18 tries. Tyler Williams supported with 51 yards on five carries and "gave us a nice spark," said Heinrich.

Scott Newberry, Lyu and Kinsting also carried the ball, working behind the line of tackles Danny Kowitz and Chris Chavez, guards Augie Lagemann and Chris Greene and center Scott Francis, as the Falcons rolled up nearly 300 yards on the ground. The coach also praised Sato, Hall and Walter for their blocking.

Kinsting also completed 3 of 9 passes, hitting Alex Lagemann twice for 20 yards and Stoffers once.